College Newsletter
Term 2 Week 10 Friday 30 June 2017
A Message from the Principal
As the term draws to a close, students are to be congratulated on their success in the classroom over the past term. Students in Year 7, 9 and 10 received their reports today and these reports indicate that most students have continued to improve their educational achievement over the past term. As we begin our holiday break, it is important that students continue to read constantly so as to continue to build their literacy skills. Research suggests that all students should be reading for at least 30 minutes everyday.
Students have also experienced success in debating with our Year 12 students being runners up in the Final of the SWCCDA Debating Competition and our Year 7 students losing the Semi Final of this competition. Cerdon College congratulates all of our debaters on their significant developments over the past two terms of involvement in this competition. Debating encourages students to use detailed explanation to justify their viewpoints.
As the term concludes, our building project continues 'to emerge from the ground' and is on course to be completed by the end of the year. We thank both parents and students for their co-operation and understanding while this project is undertaken.
School re-commences for Term 3 on Monday 17 July 2017.
I take this opportunity to wish all our families a relaxing and renewing school holiday break.
As a community we pray -
Lord,
I ask that you encourage me
to always do my best in all that I undertake.
Lead me to learn how to use
my gifts and talents fully
so that I always work to build people up,
encouraging others to experience success
by using their gifts and talents
so that together we can make a real
difference in our world.
Amen
God Bless
Mrs Patricia Baker
Principal
Staff Development Day
The school and office will be closed and no supervision will be available for students as staff will be offsite.
Thank you
Student Attendance
The NSW Education Act (1990) requires every child from 6 years to 17 years of age to be at school every day the school is open. The only acceptable reason for an absence is an illness that is fully documented.
Any extended time away from school for any reason may mean that a school will require a student who has missed classes to repeat a school year, as the school may be unable to certify that a student has achieved the syllabus outcomes for that stage.
Attendance Summary as at 29 June 2017
Sydney Morning Herald HSC Study Guide
Year 12 Trial HSC Timetable Monday, 31 July - Monday, 14 August
Building Site
Access to the College Office is via the Sherwood Road footpath only. Parent co-operation in allowing Cerdon College to meet its Work, Health and Safety obligations is appreciated.
School Fees
Thank you to those families that have finalised their Term 2 School Fees which were due and payable on Monday 12 June 2017.
If you have yet to finalise your account, please do so at your earliest convenience.
Mrs Baliva is available to answer any questions regarding your school fees account when school resumes for Term 3 on Monday 17 July 2017.
Finance Department
Cerdon College
Year 10 Self Defence
On Friday 9th June, the Year 10 students were visited by a former police officer to be informed about self defence, and how to handle compromising and dangerous situations. He spoke eloquently and enthusiastically, talking about the effective options available for such situations, and the legal definitions of certain acts that enlightened many. He spoke about a variety of relevant topics accompanied by examples that allowed the students to truly empathise, and realise that it is essential for all students to be constantly aware of what is going on around them. In this day when many students get distracted with mobile phones, it is easy for them to be unaware of situations developing around them.
With a splash of humour, he didn't fail to engage the students and focus their attention on the essential information being taught. To conclude the session, he taught the students some helpful physical self defence moves and strategies that would assist them if they were ever to find themselves in risky situations.
Mrs J Drageljevic
Year 10 Guidance Co-ordinator
Archibald Prize@Cerdon
On Wednesday the school community celebrated with the Year 11 winners of the Cerdon Archibald Prize. Pictured are Thy Mai (CAPA Leader) with Samantha Lindermann Passanant centre with her drawing of Mr Kershaw (People’s Choice Award) surrounded by Vanessa Madeleine, Janine Udan, Katrina Jelavic, Kate Hughes and Kelly Nguyen all Highly Commended.
The 'Ultimate Year 8 Handball Competition'
This term the 'Ultimate Year 8 Handball Competition' took place in the form of a round robin draw. We witnessed great feats of athleticism from the five teams who entered and some close calls that were fortunately resolved via an iPad video replay.
Unfortunately, there can only be one victorious team and that was 'The Ballerz' who defeated 'LBOW' in the grand final.
I'd like to thank all teams who entered, referees, video referees and supporters who came to watch.
Miss A Parker
Year 8 Guidance Co-ordinator
Numeracy at Cerdon
EMU (Extending Mathematical Understanding) News at Cerdon
Thirteen of our Year 7 students have successfully completed the Wave 2 EMU (Extending Mathematical Understanding) Intervention program. All students in Year 7 are given an MAI (Mathematical Assessment Interview) prior to beginning Year 7. This interview assesses student's Growth Points in the domains of Counting, Place Value, Addition and Subtraction and Multiplication and Division. It is from interpreting this data that students are chosen to participate in the EMU Intervention program.
The program aims to improve the numeracy skills of the girls by providing them with strategies they can take back to all classrooms, not just Mathematics. It involves a lot of ‘hard thinking’ and questioning around numeracy games and activities.
Overall in mathematics, students are expected to grow by +4 Growth Points per year. The average growth of the students on the program was +5, achieved in a 14 week period.
Some students saw growth of up to +9 which is a huge success!
Three teachers are training to become EMU Specialist teachers this year and each took on an EMU group as part of their course. I would like to thank Therese Doan, Thomas Kershaw and Ivana Liistro for their hard work and commitment and congratulate them on the success of the girls in their EMU groups. Thank you to Sonya Agius and Isabel Redwin who also worked with EMU groups this semester.
I would also like to thank the entire staff of Cerdon for their ongoing support of the EMU Intervention program because without this, we would not see the great success in numeracy the students achieve.
Grace Muscat (Maths Co-ordinator) and
Anne-Maree McEwen (Numeracy Co-ordinator)
Enrichment@Cerdon
This last week of term was a very exciting one in the Enrichment calendar with the Science and Engineering Challenge at Western Sydney University taking place. This is always a fun and exciting day and a great experience for all those who participated, and this year was no different.
As the holidays begin, students are encouraged to look for opportunities to be involved in enriching activities to develop an interest or a talent, or even discover new experiences. Check out some of the latest programs and competitions on offer at the end of this edition or visit the Enrichment@Cerdon for all the latest updates.
The 2017 Science and Engineering Challenge at Western Sydney University
Applications are open for ….
Experience IT! Women in Engineering Conference
4th July 2017 Western Sydney University Parramatta Campus
If you like designing solutions to problems, want to contribute to society and make a difference to the world, come see what engineering is about at the Experience It! student conference.
This conference is aimed at NSW high school girls in Years 8-10. No prior engineering, maths or physics experience is required and students will have the opportunity to do workshops based on their areas of interest. Students will also get to work as a team in challenges to win some great prizes! For further information please visit
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Event/experience-it-wie-student-conference
Coder Academy Holiday courses for high school students
The Coder Academy is offering students the opportunity to participate in coding workshops, robotics, web applications and artificial intelligence. Courses are suitable for students aged 12+. For further information please visit
https://coderacademy.edu.au/kids-and-teens-coding/school-holidays
CSIRO Science Bootcamp
Science bootcamp is an immersive CSIRO science experience for secondary school students. CSIRO Education and Outreach will host the science bootcamp in Sydney from the 5-6th July, 2017
The two-day program exposes secondary school-aged students to authentic scientific research in contemporary research facilities and gives the students the chance to meet and talk with CSIRO researchers. Students visit working laboratories and see the research currently being performed by scientists, researchers and technicians.
For further information and to register please visit
https://www.csiro.au/en/Education/Community-engagement/Bootcamp
The UNSW Mining Summer School
Applications are now open for students in Year 10 and 11 who would like to apply for the UNSW Mining Summer School on the 17-19th January 2018.
This is a unique opportunity for students who are interested in engineering, particularly mining, to experience first-hand what the industry is all about. The three day residential program includes workshops, lectures and site visits of both underground and surface mines. For further information please visit
https://www.engineering.unsw.edu.au/mining-engineering/study-with-us/unsw-minerals-summer-school
The 2018 Women in Engineering Camp at the UNSW
Applications are now open for students aged 16 years and over to be part of The Women in Engineering Camp at the UNSW.
This is a fantastic opportunity for students to experience the diverse world of engineering. All students who have attended in the past had a positive and enriching experience. If you are interested in science and would like to learn more about engineering, the contribution women can make in this field and the opportunities available for them, this is an opportunity you might like to consider.
For further information please visit
The Science Experience at the University of Sydney 2018 program
The University of Sydney will be running the very popular Science experience during the January holidays. This program will allow students to employ real science in hands-on laboratory sessions and interactive lectures to solve a crime. Students will work with fellow detectives to interview suspects and collect evidence against them. If you're a natural problem solver and enjoy exploring a case from every angle, the Sydney Science Experience is the place you need to be in January.
Applications are now open for this fantastic program.
Please visit https://www.scienceexperience.com.au/ for further information and to register.
Ozkids : Literary and Arts program
Ozkids is a non for profit organization which aims to instill a love of literature and the arts in all students. The organisation offers students the opportunity to have their stories and poems or art work reviewed by a group of judges who are leaders in their field.
A selection of works is then published in the OzKids Magazine at regular times throughout the year. At the end of the year prizes are awarded for the best pieces of literature and art work submitted.
Entry is open to all school students. Closing date for your work to be considered for this year’s awards is 6th October, 2017.
Further information is available from http://www.ozkids.com.au/index.html
Alex Rider Story Competition
Calling all ALEX RIDER fans! If you enjoy action, adrenaline pumping, adventure stories and think you can write a good one, this is the opportunity for you. Students are invited to write a short story (750 words) with Alex Rider in it for their chance to win some fantastic prizes. Anthony Harrowitz, author of the Alex Rider series, will be judging the winning entry!
Further information is available on http://alexriderstory.com/
ATOM Photo Competition
The ATOM Photo Comp is an initiative of Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM). It provides students with the opportunity to enter three photographs on a given theme for a chance to win some fantastic prizes. The theme for this years’ competition is My Backyard.
Further information is available on http://atomphotocomp.org
Entries close September 1, 2017.
Mrs S Agius
Enrichment Co-ordinator
2017 Semester 1 Co-ordinator's Awards
Congratulations to the following students who have received a Co-ordinator's Award during Semester 1 -
Catherine Abarca 10F18
Alyssa Abou Hamed 8G24
Amira Abulahi 9I32
Teresa Akkari 8G23
Anadora Karina Alejo 12FF3
Millana Allan 7E6
Joya Antoun 8G23
Zali Aquilina 11F17
Marcia Arrilucea 9I31
Adit Ayac 9I31
Erica Azzi 8GL3
Gabriela Badrov 11F14
Emma Balogh-Caristo 10F24
Tamsyn Balogh-Caristo 10F24
Jemima Barkley 10F20
Jamie-Marie Bazouni 8GL3
Siena Bergamin 10F18
Alysha Biber 10F21
Simran Borges 12FF6
Sandra Bou Ghosn 10FD1
Juliann Boumelhem 10F18
Chloe Boustani 8GL3
Andree Boutros 8G25
Jasmine Brien 9I31
Jasmine Bui 8G25
Christina Callaghan 7E10
Keely Callaghan 9J28
Isabella Caroso 10F19
Riley Carroll 12FF8
Lucia Cavasinni 8GL3
Juliana Chahine 8G25
Mikaela Chami 8G23
Charlotte Chidiac 11F16
Rachel Conlon 8G25
Tayla Maree Contreras 10F18
Rita Dagher 8G23
Alyssa Dang 8G23
Michelle Dang 8G24
Isabella Daoud 7E6
Taylor Daoud 10F18
Anok Deng 8G25
Sarah Denniss 8G23
Ela Dincsoy 8GL3
Nora-Lee Doueihi 9J29
Aaliyah Duron Vargas 9J29
Lara Dwyer 7E5
Chloe Eigner 8G23
Vanessa El Hayek 8G24
Nicole El Jammal 12FF8
Jamelle El Koura 8G23
Charlie-Rose El Riachi 8G26
Elissa El-Bayssari 8G26
Amelia El-Halabi 10F19
Mary El-Helo 10F21
Antonia El-Rihani 10F20
Daniella Elakcnouch 10F21
Analise Elia 9J29
Allannah-Marie Elias 8G26
Catherine Elias 7E5
Mary Elias 7E6
Ma. Dominique Espinosa 10F24
Sally Essey 8G23
Joyce Eweda 7E5
Kristin Farah 9J29
Jana Farhat 7E8
Kayla Furness 11F16
Lauryn Galea 8G24
Veronica Gambacorta 10FD1
Sima Gem 9J28
Rebecca Georges 7E9
Jennifer Ghaleb 8G25
Alana Ghassibe 8G24
Natasha Grech 8GL3
Marie Guaricci 10F24
Catalina Guerrero 9J30
Gardenia Habib 8G25
Anna Haider 8G27
Sara Haider 11F16
Caitlyne Halabi 10F24
Maddison Halabi 10F20
Alyssa Hanna 9J29
Deanna Hanna 8G24
Rachelle Hanna 10F20
Rose Hanratty 9I31
Nitika Harpalani 8G23
Sophia Hassarati 10F24
Renee Helou 9J30
Bethany Heng 9I33
Caitlin Hitti 10F21
Allyson Issa 12FF6
Mikayla Issa 8G27
Laura Jehdian 10F18
Charli Jones 8G25
Karen Jreije 8G23
Paula Kahwajy 9J28
Zainab Kamara 8G25
Clara Khalil 10F18
Jayda Khalil 9I31
Stephanie Khamis 8G25
Alyssa Khouli 8G25
Elianor Khoury 8G25
Hannah Khoury 8G24
Selina Kilic 8GL3
Kiranpreet Kohli 11F13
Lola Kouzoukas 7E5
Isabelle Kroeger 10F21
Claudia Kukucka 9J28
Isabelle Langan 11F17
Alaura Mae Lassiter 8G27
Christy Lau 10F19
Jemmie Le 8GL3
Joan Le 7E5
Wendy Le 10F20
Amelia Liang 10F19
Elizabeth Fan Ling 8G23
Julia Ljubicic 9I32
Gabriella Logiotatos 8G24
Flavia Lu 9J29
Dang Phuong Thao Ly 9J30
Bree Maguire 9J30
Thy Mai 12HA
Alexandria Makary 10F18
Margaret Makary 9J28
Belinda Martin 11F15
Porshea Masud 9J29
Isabel Mateos 10FD1
Isabella Matsias 11F13
Adut Mayom 7E6
Minh McCarthy 11F16
Suzanne Mekdessi 9I31
Alannah Melhem 9J28
Brijet Mellier 9I33
Allison Menezes 8G23
Rachael Menezes 9J28
Mikayla Menouhos 11F17
Kalliope Mentis 9I33
Brooke Moody 10F20
Kiara Mooney 7E9
Deepti Moopnar 8G26
Josephine Moujaes 8G24
Chantelle Narso 8GL3
Gabrielle Nasr 7E6
Theresa Ndaira 9J29
Victoria Nguon 8G23
Mai Truc Anh Cecilia Isabelle Nguyen 11F13
Thuy Ann Nguyen 8G26
Veronica Nguyen 9J30
Bethany Nicholls 8G25
Daniella Novosadek 8G24
Emily O'Brien 9I32
Jennifer Ockert 8GL3
Chantelle-Christabella Or 7E10
Grace Othman 8G25
Aleyna Ozbal 9J28
Isabella Panuccio 8G24
Antonela Pavlovic 11F16
Lauryn-Rose Ponzo 8G27
Demi Portelli 8G27
Claudia Portolesi 8G24
Elaine Rahme 9J29
Maddalena Tomasina Ram 8GL3
Tatiana Raslan 9J30
Ivana Rimac 8G24
Georgia Saba 7E9
Isabella Saba 7E10
Zahra Sadat 9I32
Maria Sahyoun 9I31
Jessica Salame 7E5
Sehej Sehmbhi 10F19
Sophia Severin 9J29
Sabah Shekeb 10F21
Piper Shepherd 7E5
Sophia Siderides 8G25
Lilian Sidra 10F24
Bianca Simonetta 8G24
Lauren Smith 12FF8
Asmi Soodan 9J30
Natalie Sorensen 8G26
Madison Stephens 10FD1
Emily Stoove 12GL5
Rachael Summers 12GL5
Balpreet Sunner 11F14
Kayla-Marie Tadros 10F19
Tina Tang 8G27
Annie Taniane 10F24
Charlize Tartak 8G24
Bitanya Tilahun 10F20
Mikhaela Topfer 9I32
Jessica Truong 8G26
Edwina Tu 8G27
Claudia Turano 7E7
Sophia Turano 9I32
Liliana Urso 9I33
Sabrina Ventura 8G25
Sophia Vicic 9J29
Jemii Virakorn 8G24
Amelia Walsh 11F17
Samira Wang 8G23
Sarah Wickham 8G24
Amelia Williams 8G24
Briana Wilson 8G26
Stephanie Wilson 7E7
Rachel Woelfl 12HA
Isabella Yaako 7E9
Madison Yagki 8G24
Lily-Grace Yimer 9J30
Uniform Shop
Regular trading hours are as follows:
Monday and Wednesday 8:00 am—2:00 pm (Terms 1 and 4)
Mondays only 8:00 am—2:00 pm (from Week 5 Term 2 and all Term 3)
Cerdon College Uniform Shop Management
Telephone: 8724 7329 (During trading hours only)
School Zones
Parents need to take note that the area surrounding Cerdon College is designated as a School Zone. Police and Council Rangers constantly patrol the area. They will have no hesitation in prosecuting drivers for driving offences.
In NSW more than one million school students travel to and from school each day. The vast majority of students do so safely. The NSW State Government is committed to further increasing safety for children during school travel times.
The school zones were selected according to a number of criteria concerning the risks young pedestrians are exposed to, including a combination of high traffic volumes, the level of pedestrian use and crash history.
All NSW school zones are sign-posted with regulatory signs that list the operating times of the school zones.
What times do the school zone speed cameras operate?
All school zone speed cameras operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week and detect vehicles exceeding the speed limit. They are also programmed to detect vehicles exceeding the 40km/h school zone speed limit during sign-posted school zone times.
For most locations these times are: 8am – 9.30am and 2.30pm – 4pm on gazetted school days.
How do I know I am entering a school zone?
NSW school zones are sign-posted indicating the operating times of the school zone. There are also large, bright yellow markings painted on the road showing the 40km/h speed limit. In addition to the regulatory signs Roads and Maritime has also installed flashing lights (school zone alert systems) at a number of school zone sites, including all fixed speed camera sites that are located in a school zone. School zone flashing lights are used as an additional warning system to alert motorists to slow down, and are not legally required in NSW.
Are school zones enforced on pupil free days?
Fixed digital speed cameras enforce the school zone 40km/h speed limit during the stated school zone hours on all gazetted school days. Pupil free days or staff development days fit into this category and in some cases there may still be students attending schools on these days.
There are also some instances where double demerits apply on a school day. This will usually happen when the day before a long weekend is also a gazetted school day.
School days are defined as those gazetted by the NSW Government and which can be found on the NSW Government website and in most annual diaries. Both Catholic and independent schools, irrespective of their term dates, have enforceable school zones in line with Department of Education school terms. The fixed speed cameras enforce the school zone speed limit in accordance with the Department of Education school term dates.
School Calendars
About us
Email: cerdon@parra.catholic.edu.au
Website: http://dev.cerdon.nsw.edu.au
Location: Sherwood Rd, Merrylands West, New South Wales, Australia
Phone: 8724 7300
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CerdonCollege
Twitter: @CerdonCollege